Pyramid Solitaire
Overview
Pyramid Solitaire is a single-player card game played with a standard 52-card
deck. Unlike building patiences such as Klondike, Pyramid is a matching
game: you clear a seven-row pyramid by removing exposed cards in pairs that add
up to thirteen. The deal is won when every card of the pyramid has been
removed.
Card Values
Suit and color do not matter — only the rank value counts:
Setup
•
A standard 52-card deck is shuffled.
•
28 cards are dealt face-up into a pyramid of seven rows: the apex (row 1)
has 1 card, row 2 has 2, and so on down to the base (row 7) with 7 cards. Each
card overlaps and partially covers the two cards diagonally below it.
•
The remaining 24 cards form the face-down stock.
•
The waste pile starts empty.
Exposure
A pyramid card is exposed — and therefore selectable — only when both
cards that overlap it from the row below have been removed. The entire base row
(row 7) is exposed from the start. Higher cards become exposed as the two cards
covering each of them are cleared.
How to Play
There are no turns and no time pressure. Make moves in any order until the
pyramid is cleared or you run out of legal moves.
Removing Pairs
•
Select two exposed cards whose values total 13. They are removed
together. The valid pairs are:
•
A card blocked by either of the two cards below it cannot be selected until
both of those cards are gone.
Removing Kings
•
A King is worth 13 on its own, so an exposed King is removed by itself
with a single selection — it never needs a partner.
Using the Stock and Waste
•
Turn the top card of the stock to the waste at any time. The top of
the waste is always available for pairing.
•
A qualifying pair may combine any two available cards: two exposed pyramid
cards, or an exposed pyramid card and the waste top.
•
Removing the waste top exposes the card beneath it in the waste.
Redeals
•
When the stock is exhausted, you may recycle the waste pile back into the
stock and deal through it again.
•
You get up to three passes through the stock (the initial pass plus two
redeals). After the final pass, no more stock cards are available.
Winning and Losing
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Win: every card in the pyramid has been removed.
•
Lose (stuck): no legal pair or lone-King removal remains, the stock is
empty, and no redeals are left.
Strategy Tips
•
Prefer removals that uncover the most blocked cards, especially near the apex.
•
Watch for cards you will need later (for example, both partners of a needed
pair sitting in the pyramid) and plan the order in which you expose them.
•
Save stock passes: clear as much of the pyramid as you can before recycling,
because you only get three passes in all.